Well, that was awful.
Hot and humid… and not much shade.
A two loop course that proved mentally draining… especially since the majority of runners were doing the half and thereby gone from the second loop.
A logistical snafu in clearing the course in the morning meant we started 10-15 minutes late… which meant we lost 10-15 minutes of pre-dawn running.
From early on I felt like I needed to pull back on my pace to avoid heat exhaustion or blowing up. Ironically, I quickly went from consciously dialing it back to being physically unable to go any faster.
An ex-girlfriend of mine had one rule for any of my race wanderings — The first rule of Run Kevin Run is “Don’t Die.”
So, at least I didn’t die.
In 2018, I ran a 3:53:08 here. Today, it was a 4:02:50.
I don’t recall off the top of my head what the temperature or conditions were like three years ago… but my phone today said “Running” at the finish was “Poor.” Truth.
***
Pre-race:
Loop 1:
Loop 2:
The Finish:
It was the years, the mileage, the heat and the humidity.
But, again, I didn’t die. So… there’s that.